European shares edge up, led by TNT Express

PARIS

PARIS Nov 16 European stocks edged higher on
Friday, following the previous session's sell-off, led by Dutch
delivery group TNT Express after it sold off its
airlines unit.

Persistent concerns over how the U.S. government will
address the looming 'fiscal cliff' of expiring tax breaks and
spending cuts, as well as how Greece will fund itself, were set
to crimp gains, however.

At 0815 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top
European shares was up 0.2 percent at 1,080.43 points, after
losing 0.9 percent and hitting a two-month low on Thursday.

"There are quite a few headwinds in the short term: the U.S.
fiscal cliff, Middle-East tensions, Spain's bailout or no
bailout, Greece's troubles... that's why people have some
hesitation," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales
trading, at Global Equities.

"I think that it's time to scoop up stocks, with an horizon
of at least six months, although with some put spreads to
protect the portfolio in case of a 5 percent dip before the end
of the year."